Strengthening the foundations: Practice priorities in early childhood settings

With speech and language being a significant area of concern within England, the research upon which this paper focused aimed to explore how indoor and outdoor play and learning spaces impact on young children’s communication and language development. Eleven early years settings were asked to assess children’s baseline skills within this area ( n = 76), then to undertake improvements to their environments using an environmental audit tool ( n = 11). After the improvements were implemented and embedded, children were re-assessed 6 months later. Parents’ ( n = 10) and practitioners’ ( n = 29) views were also sought on the perceived benefits of the intervention. Through a mixed-method evaluation approach and by way of statistical analysis of observations ( n = 11), questionnaires ( n = 39), and interviews ( n = 11), before and after the intervention, it was found that practitioner’s confidence in supporting speech and language development was enhanced (increase of 32%–44%). Further, improvements made in the play and learning environments also contributed towards a positive impact on speech and language outcomes (93%–97% improvement) and parents noted improvements in their children’s development in this area. Although the small-scale study was undertaken in England, it is asserted that the findings may be applicable to a wider international context. This project highlighted that practitioners require support in utilising their environments in a supportive manner and it is recommended that there needs to be an approach moving forward that focuses on ‘strengthening the foundations’ of early years practice.